


house my heart in your palms, but keep it tender

by ZodiacRiver



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Slow Dancing, Tea shop AU, Waltzing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 15:38:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17124083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZodiacRiver/pseuds/ZodiacRiver
Summary: The scent of Earl Grey, cozy winter afternoon and a nice, slow dance.





	house my heart in your palms, but keep it tender

**Author's Note:**

  * For [celestehalcyon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestehalcyon/gifts).



> I wrote this for 2018's YOI Secret Santa! Had so much fun...!!

“For the hundredth time, Viktor, this is a tea shop, not a coffee shop. We don’t sell coffee here,” Yuuri said, beaming with a humorous smile. “But we do have hot chocolate. Care to have some? With cream, maybe? Or milk?”

 

“No, thanks,” Viktor replied. “I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate.”

 

“Then, settle for water, I think. But again, this is a tea shop. We have a variety of tea for you to pick from. I’ll hand you the menu if you’d like.”

 

“I wonder why there’s a tea shop, and a coffee shop. Why can’t the two just be one? Like, you know,” Viktor raised an eyebrow and grinned sheepishly, in a way that made Yuuri both blushed and wanted to chuckle. He looked silly. “Us.”

 

“Stop it, you,” Yuuri chided. He was smiling. And Viktor was smiling, too. The sun rays of winter morning in St. Petersburg greeted them through the mosaic glass windows, and they reflected the color in Viktor’s eyes. He leaned his elbow on the table, cupping a side of his face with his palm and didn’t avert his eyes away from Yuuri.

 

It was Christmas. Yuuri’s shop was supposed to be closed, but Viktor came, regardless of the sign being hung to show either the bold OPEN or CLOSED. The smell of chamomile and chrysanthemum and rose danced around. The coldness of the air, the relaxing scent of tea and the sound of water boiling were exactly what Yuuri liked.

 

“If you’ve got no coffee, then...,” Viktor’s voice trailed off. Yuuri knew that he was fooling around, trying to be mysterious like he was in some kind of crime drama. Or a romantic-comedy. It was as if he was to pull out a knife or give him a kiss. Or both, or neither. “I’ll take the usual. Earl Grey with a little bit of mint, please.”

 

“Of course,” he replied. Yuuri prepared Viktor’s order and when it was done, he placed it in front of him. He sat across him, sighing deeply in content. The tea was still too hot to drink; the smoke-like steam evaporated from the light brown liquid. He took this as an indication to initiate a conversation.

 

“Do you think this place needs some music? Like, you know, jazz or classical. We have an unused old phonograph at home. I’m sure that customers will like the antiquity of it, too. What do you say?” he asked.

 

Viktor nodded. He pressed his lips together, thinking. “Well, I think I like it as quiet as this. I like the tranquil ambience. Music is cool, but then the patient atmosphere would be kind of lost, you know?”

 

“That makes sense,” Yuuri smiled. “Drink your tea, Viktor. Best before cold.”

 

“My tongue will burn.”

 

Yuuri enjoyed this. He enjoyed the small little talks he had with Viktor, the imperishable moments that ignited perennial memories. It was incomparable. Viktor was a sweet man. He knew how to have his way with romance and words of love, but silence, silence at times, fitted the puzzle well.

 

“All right. While we wait, do you have anything in mind?”

 

“Hmm,” Viktor muttered. He looked at him, and Yuuri wondered just what kind of angel had sculpted him. His expression spoke eloquently; the way he blinked and tilted his head talked in a language Yuuri unmistakably understood. Viktor reciprocated the smile that Yuuri didn’t know had twitched the corners of his mouth.

 

“Do you know how to dance, Yuuri?”

 

“Not in the slightest. Do you?”

 

“I used to take ballet classes, so, yes, I do.”

 

“What do you have in mind, Viktor?”

 

Viktor stood up from where he sat. He walked towards Yuuri and gently took his hand without a word. Words weren’t important, because Yuuri stood up too, knowing exactly what Viktor intended. He knew exactly what Viktor had in mind.

 

“May I take this dance, dearest prince?”

 

“Yes, but—“

 

“Hush. It’s improper to talk.”

 

Viktor’s steps were deliberate and careful, while Yuuri’s were slow and clearly inexperienced. But Viktor didn’t voice anything. Their conversation merely consisted of intimate eye contacts and slow smiles and clumsy feet nipping at each other.

 

Yuuri observed Viktor’s face and found himself falling into a spiraling, bubbling chasm of embarrassment. How could he be in his arms right now? It seemed out of the world, magical even. The curve of his nose from the bridge to the tip, the fading, insignificant freckles around them, how his side bangs swayed as his body did—all the pretty things stayed within and beyond him and it made Yuuri dizzy.

 

Viktor’s eyes were like the ocean. His eyes were the color of high tide under a lunar eclipse, waves riding inside his irises and the sea breathing; a warm hue, like home during Christmas, including the crackling fireplace, toy train tracks and warm gingerbread cookies and hot cocoa—truly lovely, though words failed to describe how much.

 

“You’ve been staring too much,” Viktor complained.

 

“Ssh. You said it was improper to talk.”

 

The cramped space didn’t become a limit for their dance; they continued their movements, sometimes spinning and other times bumping the wall, but most of the time used to gaze at each other with soft, ethereal eye-to-eye voiceless communication.

 

“Ah! Sorry, Viktor,” Yuuri apologized when he stepped on Viktor’s foot. “You should drink your tea by now. It must be already lukewarm.”

 

“Sure,” Viktor spun him one more time. “But, do you know what a couple does to end a dance?”

 

“And that is?”

 

Viktor brought a hand up to touch Yuuri’s cheek. It was a smooth gesture, and so sudden that Yuuri involuntarily flinched away. It felt safe, though. Being in Viktor’s hold felt safe. It was an innocent emotion.

 

Unhurriedly, Viktor leaned down. Before Yuuri could guess what was coming, their lips touched.

 

Yuuri pursed his lips and craned his neck. He was still trying to process the entire situation. Viktor kissed him, and it shouldn’t be so amazing, but it was, and his world seemed to be narrowed down into Viktor and him only. His heart jolted, his chest was thunderous and his mind clouded with nothing but _this._

Viktor pulled away and rested his forehead against Yuuri’s. “They kiss.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think ^w^


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